Steve Jackson Games is granted permission to use this in acknowledgement of my contribution. So is anyone else.

Mythological basis: Some kinds of tzitzimime in Aztec mythology, and a less powerful version of the ones in Middle Eastern mythology, notably the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Description: Scorpion men are 1.5 hex creatures with the upper body, arms and head of a humanoid, the wings of a bird, and the lower body, stinger and two legs of a giant scorpion. The lower body is held out horizontal behind the hips. They are ageless and can go into a suspended animation for years between meals.

Habits: They are often found serving as guardians or bodyguards or the like to a wizard or king, or in the service of an incomprehensible order given by a master long dead. They are loyal to such orders but not unreasonably stubborn: they can sometimes be persuaded, for instance, that the spirit or intent of their orders takes precedence over the letter. Mnoren used them as ceremonial guards. Since they stay in one place for a very long time, and can be very old, they are often useful as sources of information about times long past.

Characteristics (typical): ST 16, DX 11, IQ 10, MA 8 running or 12 flying, chitin stops 1 hit. They can use weapons but rarely wear armour. When fighting with weapons they use the same rules as humans. Instead of attacking with a weapon they can use their stinger against a target directly in front of them, or against a rear hex target at -4 DX. The stinger does 2-1 damage, if it penetrates it also causes 1+1 damage immediately after the target's next action phase, 1+0 after the action phase after that, then 1-1, etc.

Legends: Most scholars believe scorpion men were probably created by the Mnoren, since their biology is let's face it absurd. There are stories of godlike gigantic scorpion men, who could terrify or kill with a glance.

Steve Jackson Games (and everyone else) is more than welcome to use this, acknowledgement would be spiffy.

Turret Bugs

ST 8, DX 13, IQ 3. MA 4, chitin stops 4 hits

A turret bug looks like an armored dome on stubby, jointed legs, with a head sticking out of the top and a mouth on the underside (which is more lightly armored, only stopping 2 hits). It attacks by shooting venom-filled spines at its prey (treat as blowgun darts). The venom does 1 point of damage, and gives DX -2 for 10 minutes - getting hit by enough darts will completely paralyze a figure. It can fire 3 times a turn (at the beginning of the action phase, at its turn in the DX countoff, and at the end of the action phase). A turret bug has (2d6 x 5) spines ready to go at any one time; they regenerate at the rate of 5/day.

Any form of armor will stop the spines, but sometimes they find an opening. If the turret bug rolls 3, 4, or 5 to hit, that means the spine found exposed flesh regardless of armor (typically going through the faceplate; apply double or triple damage as normal). Additionally, figures in any armor less than full plate take damage on a 6, 7, or 8 that hits. A Stone Flesh spell renders a figure immune to spines.

Turret bugs live in forests and swamps for the most part, sometimes nesting in caves. They are not affected by darkness, as their vision extends into the infrared. They eat mostly birds and small animals, and are generally uninterested in attacking humans - unless those humans disturb their nests. They don't have many natural predators, but trolls (who are largely immune to their venom) think they're delicious and have been known to "farm" turret bugs for food and defense.

(Please note - I haven't had the opportunity to playtest this particular beast, it may still need tweaking. And looking at it, I probably need to treat the armor-deflection chance differently - as written, if you stand far enough away the turret bug either won't hit you at all, or it'll find the only chink in your armor. Probably just roll an extra die for deflection chance, depending on what armor you're wearing.)

These creatures are created by powerful Druidic magic with the purpose of protecting a specific location. To create the Forest Guardian, the Druid selects a tree or bush to be the subject of the enchantment. When the enchantment is complete, the Guardian will remain dormant and hidden until the conditions of it's animation are met.

These conditions may be as simple as "allow no one to enter the glade" or could be more specific such as "attack any dwarves using the path."

Once animated, the Forest Guardian will separate from its parent tree and assume a man-shaped form of twisted roots, bark and branches. This takes 1 turn. The Guardian will then attack without mercy and continue attacking until its enemies have left the designated area or is has been destroyed. If it succeeds in its task it will return to its parent tree where all damage will be healed.

ST20 DX9 IQ0 MA6

Armour 4
Damage 1+2 (initial)

If a Forest Guardian scores a hit that causes any damage, they will wrap their root-like arms around their target. On subsequent turns they do not need to roll to hit but do +1 damage (cumulatively) each turn to a maximum of 1+6, as they squeeze the life from their foe.

The only way to make a Forest Guardian let go is to cause enough damage in one blow to knock it down (this requires 10 points of damage after armour protection.)

Forest Guardians are immune to Images and Illusions and to any other magics that require the subject to have a mind.

They are immune to damage from arrows and other missile weapons but take +1 damage per die from axes, fire or lightning.

These odd, fungoid creatures are only seen on the few nights on either side of a full moon. They are pale, faintly bioluminescent bipeds with thin bodies and long limbs. The Stalker's eyeless face features a long proboscis which flares at its end into a mouth like a lampreyís. They hunt by smell, sound, vibration, and heatóhaving no vision, they are not affected by Images, Illusions, and Dazzle spells. If their bite wounds a victim, it introduces venom, requiring a 4d roll v ST to avoid paralysis for 2d6 hours. Stalkers will then use their proboscis to inject spore down the throat of the victim and into the lungs. Over the next month or so, the spore grows, gaining 1 ST per week; the victim slowly loses all mobility and becomes covered in fine, silky, web-like membrane such that, by the full moon, they are merely a chrysalis host for a pupating Stalker. On the next full moon, this hatches out as an adult Stalker. Before the chrysalis is completely formed, the spore may be removed by a Cleansing spell, or by a special combination of Mammal Poison (or Reptile Poison if victim is a Reptile Man) and Plant Poison elixirs (careful with the dosage--it will also be toxic to the victim!). This alchemical removal becomes more difficult each weekóadd $100/week after the first to the cost of the elixir to reflect stronger ingredients and longer preparation. After the chrysalis is fully formed, the victim is dead.

Desc: This is a strange type of creature; no two Chimeras are the same. They are rarely larger than antelopes, but are significantly more ferocious. No one knows where they came from, who brought them here or created them, or how they reproduce.

Chimeras look like a combination of two or more other creatures: a lion and a goat; a horse, a pig, and a dog; even aquatic animals can be part of a land based chimera.

When creating a chimera, pick 2 to 4 animals, races, or creatures and mash them together; Trolls, Ogres, and Giants are all disqualified.

I haven't created any specific Chimera for my current game, yet. A Chimera could be 'relatively' peaceful and if intelligent enough be a companion. If you wanted to, you could create a Chimera using a troll, Ogre, or Giant as a one off 'boss monster' for the finale, that was just a limitation I placed on them for the game world they will be used in.

You could just as easily use one of the 'classical' Chimera or Manticore types from other games.

"Do you think we are born with ideas? I stole it, you steal it." Very famous Historian. Froggers can be a player race or NCP race. They are meant to be a neolithic people that live in small groups as 'hunter-gatherers' in swamp/marsh terrain, but they could just as easily live in temperate forest or jungle. Even desert terrain is a possibility if they become more toad like.

Frogger

ST 10
DX 11
IQ 10
MA 7
Prot 0

Desc: Froggers look like frogs that are trying to be people. They have mottled green lumpy skin, a frog head, and backwards legs like a bird. They can jump really well.

Froggers are amphibious, the few small communities that live on Deckel live in the swamp in the arms of the Ered Gorgor. They use any manufactured weapons that can get, but can only make stone, bone, wood, and leather tools, weapons, and armor themselves. Froggers can jump as if their ST were 8 points higher. Froggers also use a lot of nets, leaping into the air to throw then over adversaries.

Froggers do not go looking for trouble and the only way the players will meet then is if they stumble across a village where the froggers arenít paying attention.

Froggers have a leather armor that only fits them and gives no DX penalty while providing 2 Prot. All warriors wear this armor, even if they have a day job.

Another critter taken from one of the MANY fantasy books I've read in the last 40 years. Watch you, they'll peck you eye out, kid.

Gore Birds

ST 8
DX 13
IQ 4
MA 20/2
Prot 0

Attacks: adjDX Dmg
Dive 15 1
Peck 13 1-2

Desc: These large birds have chatoyant, dark red feathers that give it the appearance of being covered in fresh blood. They are flock hunters that will also scavenge. They travel in flocks of 15-20.

Gore Birds attack by diving at their prey and goring then with their beaks. If they are forced to land they will peck repeatedly. The lowest bird in the pecking order will attack first, and being followed by the next bird up the chain with the bird at the top of the pecking order attacking last, if the target is still alive.

Gore Birds travel and hunt during the summer, fall, and winter, and roost in the spring to raise chicks. They live in the western side of the Ring, but for some reason they seem to avoid killing sentient beings, so far.

Afterthoughts: Their split movement rate is flying/hopping on the ground. They really should have to spend an entire turn taking off in which case they get a half move, during which they cannot make any attacks.

These are mindless creatures that use camouflage and ambush to trap and kill prey. They are all tough and dangerous, and can be lethal when encountered by an inattentive party.
While mindless, lurking creatures are cunning enough to attack the last member of a line of creatures.
Both droppers and trappers are slightly amorphous, allowing them to change their overall shape to fit the space they lurk in. A 4 hex Trapper could be 4 hexes long and 1 hex wide OR form a T, or a circle, or a square as needed. Piercers do not have this ability and always look like a stalactite.

Dropper

ST 20+
DX 4
IQ 1
MA 1
Prot 3

Attacks: adjDX Dmg Effect
Crush -- 2+3 HTH

Desc: This lurker has scads of tiny tentacles on the back side of itís body that hold onto the ceiling until it drops down like a net onto its unsuspecting prey, then the dropper crushes the prey. Once the prey is dead (the Dropper can feel when the pulse has stopped) it will release its prey, roll over and use itís gripping tentacles to Ďeatí itís catch. Droppers have eyes spaced evenly around itís edge and can see in the dark just as well as in the light. They are affected by a Dazzle and for twice as long.

The front of a Dropper is very tough, but the back, tentacled, side is vulnerable to attack. All itís outside sides are considered rear, but all itís inside sides are considered front.

A Dropper is 1-hex in size for each 5 ST with a minimum size of 4 hexes. For each hex larger, add 1d to crush damage. Once a dropper drops it is in HTH combat with itís prey.

Trapper
ST 20+
DX 4
IQ 1
MA 1
Prot 3/1

Attacks: adjDX Dmg Effect
Crush -- 2+3 HTH

Desc: This lurker is a lot like the Dropper, but instead of hanging from the ceiling, it lays on the floor. It also moves by undulating itís body, since it has no arms, legs, or tentacles. Trappers have eyes spaced evenly around itís edge and can see in the dark just as well as in the light. They are affected by a Dazzle and for twice as long.

Like the Dropper, the Trapper is immensely strong and the stronger it is the bigger it is. Once the Trapper has engulfed a victim it inflicts crushing damage every round.

A Trapper is 1-hex in size for each 5 ST with a minimum size of 4 hexes. For each hex larger, add 1d to crush damage. Once a trapper engulfs, it is in HTH combat with itís prey.

Desc: This lurker looks like a stalactite. They are only found in locations with other stalactites. They hang over trails though these caves, waiting to drop on unsuspecting prey.

Piercers have a strong outer shell that tapers to a sharp point. When they drop a muscle shoots the hard tip like a dart to pierce the prey before it crashed onto the prey. The 'dart' secretes toxic digestive juices into the wound. The victim gets a 4/ST save to resist the toxin. The toxin causes weakness, with the victim losing 2 ST. The poison takes effect every round (and the victim gets a save every round). When a victim reaches 0 ST the victim is paralyzed. The digestive juices also cause acid damage, but only a weak 1-4 per round.

Piercers have no eyes, but have a spacial sense that allows them to Ďseeí their prey in the dark. They are not affected by light, shadow, or Dazzle.

Shore wights are the animated corpses of drowned sailors, lost fishermen, and children who ignored warnings to not play by the shore. They are controlled by a _Dread Lurker_, a monstrous anenmone-like beast that lurks in shallow waters. A lurker may control a half-dozen wights, which it uses to lure further victims into its clutches. A sodden, translucent tendril connects the beast to each of its puppets; this limits the distance the wight can venture onto land, and if severed results in the wight's swift demise.

Shore Wights

ST 14, DX 11, IQ 7, MA 5

These undead creatures are pale, with ragged clothing, mussed hair strewn with bits of sea weed, and an uneasy shambling gait. They may be encountered on sea shores, river banks, quays and canal paths. They maintain enough of their living personality to speak and dissemble; after emerging from the sea they generally hide, waiting for a single passerby or a small group of vulnerable-looking people to appear. They may attack outright, especially if the victim appears weak, but usually try to lure their quarry closer to the water with cries of help. ("Please! My daughter fell in. I need help!" "My ship, wrecked around the headland there. Please, come help me rescue them!") Generally, only the simple minded, drunk, or gullible fall for these clumsy entreaties.

Each of the wights attached to the same lurker are aware of what the others sees and hears, as is the lurker.

When a victim gets within a hex of a waterline, the wight will try to push or drag him in. They may be armed with a cudgel, dagger, or (rarely) a spear. Sometimes a second wight will lurk just off shore, ready to assist.

Wights may move no more than 5 hexes from the point where they emerged from the body of water. The tendril has armor 4 and ST 3. Damaged dealth by blunt weapons (club, mace, hammer) is halved before subtracting the armor. If its tendril is severed, the wight thrashes about wildly for two turns, then collapses and dies a final death.

Dread Lurker

Dread Lurkers are a three-hex creature. The lurker's bulbous body is covered with a mantle of squirming, yard-long cilia; six great tentacles -- used for locomotion and to drag prey to their beaked mouths -- ring the body. They have no facing; the have numerous eye spots, a keen sense of smell, and can detect disturbances in the water. They usually live in beds of seaweed a mile or so offshore; when they are hungry they slowly make their way to the shallows in the company of a half-dozen or so shore wights.

ST 25, DX 10, IQ 14, MA 1

A lurker generally keeps one or two wights nearby as guardians.

A lurkers tentacles are studded with stinging barbs. It can strike with two of them each turn. The tentacle deals 2-1 damage. If any hits penetrate armor, the victim must roll 4/ST to avoid the effects of the toxin. The toxin reduces effective DX by 2 and MA by 1 for two hours; the effects are cumulative. Spells which relieve the effects of poison instantly remove these penalties. A victim struck by two tentacles in the same turn may be entangled; a 4/DX throw or 3/STR throw is required to keep from being grappled and pulled toward the lurker's mouth. The lurker can strike at the grappled victim; its beak does 2 dice of damage.

Lurkers eat most of the prey that are brought to them. However, if they are running low on shore wights they will convert a freshly drowned corpse into a new puppet. The spell consumes 15 points of Strength and takes an hour to cast.

The deep-sea lairs that lurkers spend most of their time in often have piles of treasure. Most of this loot consists of coins and gems embedded in the lurker's coral-like excrement.

Desc: These horrors look mostly human, but are extremely thin, having pale, almost bluish, skin, sunken eyes, and elongated teeth. They are, for the most part, nocturnal predators who use their dominated thralls to lure victims into an ambush.

Bloodless live singly, seeking out the weak willed, dominating them after they have been bitten. Once they have a secure hiding place and a coven of witless, they now prey on the living, using their Witless to bring prey into dangerous places where the Bloodless can then attack, restrain, and exsanguinate.

Bloodless are resistant to damage, but silver weapons bypass this. If injured, they do not bleed until they die; when all the blood in their bodies spills out from all wounds and the mouth, ears, eyes, and nose.
The Witless are mortals and eat mortal fare; well, mostly mortal fare. If dominated longer than a year, they begin to act feral; eating animals newly killed and slinking more than walking.

Dominate: special ability. A mortal failing a 2/IQ save will be beguiled by the Bloodless. Once beguiled, the Witless can be controlled by the Bloodless through vocal commands. Each time the Witless is given a command to lure a victim to the Bloodless the witless gets a 3/IQ roll to break out of the control. So, yeah, if you can fail the 2.IQ roll, the 3/IQ roll might be a bit more difficult.